Container



June12, 1945. 5.W.'BL AlR 2,378,126

CONTAINER Filed Dec. 50, 1942 INVEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONTAINER George W. Blair, Mishawaka, Ind., assignor to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y.; av corporation of New Jersey Application December 30, 1942, Serial No. 470,699

' 2 Claims. (Cl. ism-0.5)

numbers of skilled workmen for theirins'tallationand when installed are more'or less permanent. They cannot readily be moved. In military operations it is important to be'able readily to.

transport facilities for the storage of large quantitles of gasoline or other liquids, and to'set up such facilities quickly with a small number of unskilled persons. I

The present invention provides means for accomplishing this objective by providing light,

flexible. collapsible tanks or storage containers which are capable of holding relatively large quantities of motor fuel and which can be readily transported and set up. In accordance with my invention I provide a liquid retaining element in the form of a large flexible container in which' a relatively small quantity of impervious material is used, and I provide a separate means, which may be an outer-container, which surrounds and supports the side wall of the liquid container and thus supports the hydrostatic forces of, the confined liquid, relieving the impervious container of all stresses due to the weight of the liquid it contains. In this manner a light and .easily transported fuel storage container is provided having a minimum quantity of impervious material, the outer or supporting means being made of readily available inexpensive materials which need not be impervious or inert to the' fuel.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a perspective view of one form of fuel storage container embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the container corresponding to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section of a portion of a container showing a connection plate for the attachment of conduits.

The fuel storage container includes a closed cylindrical container l which forms an impervious fuel containing element, and which is d sposed in an outer cylindrical side wall l2 which furnishesthe support for the weight of the fuel. The wall I2 is preferably the side wall of an open-topped cylindrical container of textile fabric of high tensile strength. The inner trated best in Fig. 3. The top wall It has a.

container is formed of alight-weight, flexible,

substantially inelastic material which is both inert and impervious to the liquid to be stored. Preferably the material is inert to aromatic hydrocarbon fuels. An example of such material is light weight textile fabric impregnated with a suitable synthetic rubber or rubber-like composition such as the olefin polysulphide plastic material known in the trade as Thiokol. Preferably fabric impregnated with the inert material is cut to proper shape and'size and the pieces are cemented or vulcanized together with or without sewing to form a closed cylinder of desired size, all joints being rendered impervious to the liquid to be stored in any suitable manner known in the art.

The inner container has a circular bottom wall I4 and a circular top wall I6 joined by a cylindrical side wall l8 The cylindrical side wall and the upturned edge of the top It p'erferably extend above the top to form a flange S9 to which loops of fabric 20 are attached to facilitate handling and to provide supports for the side wall as will be explained.

The inner container may be filled, drained, and vented by suitable conduits preferably all attached to a single plate or support as illussingle opening 2 I, the edge of which is reinforced by a grommet comprising a metal ring 22 and washers 23. A plate, is attached to the grommet by any suitable device such as screws 26.'

tainer and prevent any stresses in the fabric of the inner container which tend to rupture it, the diameter of the inner container is made slightly larger than the diameter of the outer container and the side wall of the outer container is at least as tall as the side wall of the inner container. When the inner container is placed in the outer container and filled, the inner container wrinkles slightly as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 assuring that'the corner of the outer container where the side wall joins the bottom,

is completely filled with liquid'and there are no tension stresses in the fabric of the inner container.

The outer container is in the form of an open ended cylinder of textile fabric of high tensile strength comprising a circular bottom 40 to which the cylindricalside wall 12 is sewed. The diameter oithe outer container is slightly less than the diameter of the inner container as explained above. The side wall H has a number of sleeves or patches 44 sewed to it, which receive flat posts or struts 46 which are held together in a circle by the tension 01 the side wall and patches I4, and if desired by ropes 48. The posts are held outwardly against the tension oi the side wall and ropes by radial tension elements such as ropes is secured to stakes 52. The side wall I: is suspended irom the notched upper ends of the struts j a by ropes M. This arrangement supports the side wall as an upright cylinderwhether or not the inner container is filled.

Where it is desired not to have the inner container collapse when empty, the top H is supported from poles 56 by ropes 58 attached to fabric tabs or patches cemented to the top wall IS. The poles 58 are suitably supported on appropriate struts 48. Also the tabs 20 on the upper flange IQ of the inner container may be suspended by ropes 59 from appropriate struts 46.

The invention thus facilitates storing of large quantities of liquids in relatively inexpensive container which may be transported and set up quickly by unskilled persons with a minimum of simple tools. It also permits the storage or large quantities of aircraft fuel in containers requiring relatively small quantities of inert or impervious material because the inner container supports no weight and therefore can be made of very light material, merely strong enough to support its own weight and withstand handling.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A liquid storage container comprising in combination an open-topped outer container formed of textile fabric and including a circular 1 bottom wall and a cylindrical side wall attached thereto, a plurality of rigid vertical supports disposed about the side wall, means for suspending the side wall from the vertical supports, an inner container formed or flexible substantially inelastic impervious material and comprising a circular bottom wall and a circular top wall connected by a. cylindrical side wall, the normal diameter 0! wall, tension means connecting the supports circumierentially, tension means urging the supports radially outward, means for supporting the side wall 0! the outer container on said supports and an inner container formed of flexible, inelastic impervious material and comprisinga circular bottom wall and a circular top wall connected by a cylindrical side wall, the inner container being disposed inside the outer container and the diameter of the inner container when unconfined being greater than the diameter of the outer container.

GEORGE W. BLAIR. 

